A Working Family

Most people think work in the family is pointless. You might think: "Why do housework together when I can get it done quicker by myself?" or "This is so boring, I could be doing so many better things right now." I thought the same thing when I was younger. But looking back I've realized that working together as a family is actually quite a beneficial thing that can strengthen a family and help them to grow closer together. 

One of the reasons it can be beneficial to do menial work together as a family is because it helps form a bond between the family members. You get to have one-on-one time with one another without distractions (ex. technology). My grandparents used to have a Pumpkin Patch and the summer before selling season, my mom, sisters, a few cousins, and aunts and uncles would go to the patch three times a week to weed the plants and move the water pipes. This was hard work at the time, especially during the heat of the day. I remember looking down the row of pumpkins and feeling like the work was impossible- especially because I wanted to get it done as fast and efficiently as possible. Once we'd start weeding though, we'd start talking. My grandma would tell stories and share beautiful life lessons that she'd learned. We would make jokes and laugh with each other. We communicated about the problems we had and would help one another when someone was struggling. I can honestly say that the days I spent at the Pumpkin Patch were some of the best, and it was all because of my family. The work stopped looking like work; it became something so much better. 

Another example of the benefits of family work can be shown from the weekly chores my family did. Saturday was a designated work day in my family. We would rotate jobs every week and the jobs included: cleaning the bathrooms, cleaning, sweeping, and mopping the kitchen, vacuuming, dusting, straightening the living room and basement, and during the summer, weeding the garden or helping with yardwork. We couldn't hang out with friends or play video games, or watch TV until all of the work was done in the house. Despite the simple tasks, it was difficult for me as a child. Saturday felt like my one day to relax and have fun, but I couldn't even do that. It wasn't until I recently looked back on the experiences I had from those Saturday chores that I realized how good it actually was. Sure, we were often grumpy while doing the work, we might not have been the nicest to each other, and there was lots of complaining. However, we were able to learn about responsibility, communication, compromise, and collaboration. And after all the work was done, we would almost always do some sort of activity together as a family.  It might be going out and seeing a movie, or going shopping, it could even just be having dinner outside on the patio. Whatever it was that we did, we always had a fun time and were able to bond even more during those activities. The combined effort in cleaning the house earlier in the day made it so we were able to have even more fun with whatever we did that afternoon because we had our obligations taken care of- and we took care of them together. 

So, despite the tedious, menial, boring, tasks that you have to complete throughout the day, maybe it's not such a bad idea to do it with the people you love.